In response to the OP, I think general dentists can treat whatever they want if they feel comfortable. If you paid attention in school and remember how to treat these things, go for it. Most patients with canker sores, oral herpes, and glossitis would see their PCP (primary care physician); I don't think most people realize a dentist can treat that stuff. Their physician may treat it or refer them to ENT, OMS, or GP DDS depending on who they are most familiar with. In that scenario the ENT is most likely to get the call followed by OMS.
As for the frustration GP's feel towards OMS', I see the same thing with PCP's and internists in the medical world. These "primary care" guys get ridiculed by medical and surgical specialists routinely. It's as though being a primary care doc, either in the medical or dental world, is underachieving. What a stupid belief! Somebody has to do primary care--taking care of routine problems, dabbling in selected "specialty" areas based on the GP's interest, and making referrals when needed. GP dentists and PCP's are capable doctors. Dentists and PCP's have a right to get pissed when someone tries to put them down. I understand their frustration.
As an OMS, I am frustrated by the occassional lack of respect I receive from physician, as omsres discussed. I am also frustrated by folks like C132 who continue to declare the virtues of ENT's over OMS', especially when C132 seems to have no knowledge of expanded scope OMS.
Expanded-scope OMS' have to deal with comments about our lack of training and capablilty all the time. There is resistence in the medical community to our expansion, and our role is not well defined within the medical community. There are guys like C132 who think we are abandoning our dental roots and doing things we have no business doing.
Personally, I want to build a referral base from the medical world for tooth, oral, cosmetic, and pathologic cases. I would also like to be the "go-to guy" for the dental world. I would like to treat GP's with respect and handle their difficult cases and pathologic/trauma referrals. However, I worry that I will become the town garbage man that will get nothing but crappy cases dumped on me if I try to be the "go-to guy".
Guys like C132 piss off specialists. The comments they make are the reason that specialists, either in the dental or medical world, get mad at primary care people. C132, a lot of your posts are from the pit of ignorance hell.
What we're seeing in this post is OMS' reacting to diarrhea of the mouth (or keyboard) exhibited by C132. I think most OMS' would agree GP's can do whatever they want in their office if it lives up to the standard of care. I would agree with omsres that significant pathology is probably best treated by specialists from start to finish.
My question is why C132 hates OMS' so much. Did your OMS faculty call you out or embarrass you? Furthermore, you mention OMS's being "all mouth" with nothing to back it up. How in the hell can you back up your totally subjective claims of having the best hand skills in your class? There is absolutely no way to objectively verify that claim.
As for your claim that you will never rever to OMS', get serious. Sooner or later you will. You may refer to perio for implants or even thirds, but there will come a day when you are in over your head and the only guy you can get in touch with, the only guy carrying a pager, is the OMS down the street that you hate. You'd better hope that when that situation comes he hasn't already written you off.
Don't become the GP that all the specialists hate, and don't make the mistake of thinking that b/c you're a GP you control the specialists and they all depend on you. That's the same God complex you hate in oral surgeons.
Finally, C132, you never answered my question about the price of your bleaching trays? Are you going to charge a handful of Benjamen's for your trays that you don't even work on and are purely cosmetic? If so, I can charge $200, $300, or even $400 for a potentially life-saving biopsy I preform with my own hands.
